Three of top four seeds advance at Men’s Tennis Championship
Semifinals begin at 10 a.m. Friday
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – Three of the top four seeds advanced out of the quarterfinals of the 2025 Southern Conference Men’s Tennis Championship on Thursday, with No. 5 Furman downing No. 4 Chattanooga for the first upset of the tournament. The tournament is being contested at the Champions Club, with the semifinals set for Friday at 10 a.m.
No. 1 seed ETSU will meet the fifth-seeded Paladins and No. 2 seed Mercer will face No. 3 seed Samford for the right to advance to Saturday’s title match.
No. 1 ETSU 4, No. 8 The Citadel 0
Regular-season champion and six time defending tournament champion ETSU began its quest for a title sweep by blanking eighth-seeded The Citadel, 4-0.
The Bucs second-team all-conference tandem of Peter Kalocsai and Martin Garcia-Ripoll edged The Citadel’s Noah Van Dyke and Tucker Hendrix, 6-0, at No. 1 doubles to start it off for ETSU. At No. 3 doubles, Pedro Cressoni and James Sims clinches the point for ETSU with a 6-0 win over Anthony Osipov and Reece Beckendorf.
After Juan Andres Listo defeated Osipov in straight sets, 6-2, 6-4, at No. 5 singles, the Bucs’ Cressoni eased past Beckendorf 6-2, 6-2 in the No. 3 flight. Francisco Lamas followed with a 6-3, 6-0 victory of his own over The Citadel’s Bradley Minnich at No. 4 and Carlos Gonzales defeated Tucker Hendrix, 6-2, 6-2, at No.6
Singles competition
1. Peter Kalocsai (ETSU) vs. Noah Van Dyke (CIT) 7-6 (7-3), 1-0, unfinished
2. Martin Garcia-Ripoll (ETSU) vs. Ted Bagwell (CIT) 6-3, 4-3, unfinished
3. Pedro Cressoni (ETSU) def. Reece Beckendorf (CIT) 6-2, 6-2
4. Francisco Lamas (ETSU) def. Bradey Minnich (CIT) 6-3, 6-0
5. Juan Andres Listo (ETSU) def. Anthony Osipov (CIT) 6-2, 6-4
6. Carlos Gonzales (ETSU) def. Tucker Hendrix (CIT) 6-2, 6-2
Doubles competition
1. Peter Kalocsai/Martin Garcia-Ripoll (ETSU) def. Noah Van Dyke/Tucker Hendrix (CIT) 6-0 2. Francisco Lamas/Juan Andres Listo (ETSU) vs. Ted Bagwell/Diego Ladino (CIT) 4-1, unfinished
3. Pedro Cressoni/James Sim (ETSU) def. Anthony Osipov/Reece Beckendorf (CIT) 6-0
Order of Finish: Singles (1,3) Doubles (5,3,4,6)
*****
No. 5 Furman 4, No. 4 Chattanooga 3
No. 5 seed Furman, which is seeking its’ 15th SoCon tournament title, upset fourth-seeded Chattanooga in a 4-3 thriller.
Chattanooga’s Cortland Grove ad Carson Gompert posted a 6-4 win at No. 3 doubles over Furman’s Nico Snyder and Nicolas Dispas, before Furman’s Cole Burnam ad Connor Laymon defeated UTC’s Ryan Mudre and Jaxon Lamb at No.2, 6-4. The Mocs clinched the doubles point as Jakub Jupa and Gabriel Castillo earned a 6-4 win over Furman’s Elijah Poritzky and Matt Kandel, 6-4, at No.1.
All six singles matches were needed as the Paladins sailed to a 3-1 lead with Matt Kandel beating Gabriel Castillo, 6-2, 6-2 at No. 2, John Rado defeating Ryan Mudre at No. 3, 6-2, 6-4, and Nico Snyder taking a 6-3, 7-5 victory over Matej Laibl on court five. The Mocs came storming back to tie the score at three as Jakub Jupa defeated Elijah Poritzky, 6-4, 6-3, at court one and Kristof Kincses beat Nicolas Dispas 6-2, 7-5. The match came down to court four where Walker Allen pushed the match to three sets, beating Cortland Grove, 5-7, 7-6(7-5), 6-4 to clinch the win for the Paladins.
Singles competition
1. Jakub Jupa (UTC) def. Elijah Poritzky (FUR) 6-4, 6-3
2. Matt Kandel (FUR) def. Gabriel Castillo (UTC) 6-2, 6-2
3. John Rado (FUR) def. Ryan Mudre (UTC) 6-2, 6-4
4. Walker Allen (FUR) def. Cortland Grove (UTC) 5-7, 7-6 (7-5), 6-4
5. Nico Snyder (FUR) def. Matej Laibl (UTC) 6-3, 7-5
6. Kristof Kincses (UTC) def. Nicolas Dispas (FUR) 6-2, 7-6
Doubles competition
1. Jakub Jupa/Gabriel Castillo (UTC) def. Elijah Poritzky/Matt Kandel (FUR) 6-4
2. Cole Burnham/Connor Laymon (FUR) def. Ryan Mudre/Jaxon Lamb (UTC) 6-4
3. Cortland Grove/Carson Gompert (UTC) def. Nico Snyder/Nicolas Dispas (FUR) 6-4
Order of Finish: Doubles (3,2,1) Singles (2,3,5,1,6,4)
*****
No. 3 Samford, No. 6 UNCG
Samford notched a 4-1 quarterfinal victory over No. 6 seed UNCG in a quest for the their third tournament title.
The Bulldogs won the doubles point after first-team all-conference tandem J.B. Pickard and Darcy Nicholls defeated Tymofiy Khrystyuk, 6-1 at the No. 1 position, and the duo of Santiago Arredondo and Sandeep Mohandoss won, 6-1, over Luke Thomson and William Elmers.
Samford struck first in singles as all-conference second-team honoree Darcy Nicholls defeated John Gabelic at No. 2, 6-2, 6-3. UNCG countered as Tymofiy Khrystyuk beat Sandeep Mohandoss 6-4, 6-3 at No. 1. The Bulldogs sealed the victory as J.B. Pickard took a 6-0, 7-6(7-2) win over Andrew Black at No. 4 and Hayden Menon won 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 at No.3.
Singles competition
1. Tymofiy Khrystyuk (UNCG) def. Sandeep Mohandoss (SAM) 6-4, 6-3
2. Darcy Nicholls (SAM) def. John Gabelic (UNCG) 6-2, 6-3
3. Hayden Menon (SAM) def. Luke Thomson (UNCG) 6-4, 3-6, 6-4
4. J.B. Pickard (SAM) def. Andrew Black (UNCG) 6-0, 7-6 (7-2)
5. Sebastian Harrison (SAM) vs. Devon Moskowitz (UNCG) 7-6, 0-6, 5-2, unfinished
6. Will Gray (SAM) vs. William Elmers (UNCG) 7-5, 6-7, 2-2, unfinished
Doubles competition
1. J.B. Pickard/Darcy Nicholls (SAM) def. Tymofiy Khrystyuk/John Gabelic (UNCG) 6-1
2. Santiago Arredondo/Sandeep Mohandoss (SAM) def. Luke Thomson/William Elmers (UNCG) 6-1
3. Victorio Sardinha/Sebastian Harrison (SAM) vs. Andrew Black/Devon Moskowitz (UNCG) 5-2, unfinished
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2); Singles (2,1,4,3)
*****
No. 2 Mercer 4, No. 7 Wofford 0
Second-seeded Mercer topped No. 7 seed Wofford by a 4-0 count.
Mercer claimed victories at both No. 2 and No. 4 spots to win the doubles point, with the first-team all-SoCon duo of Hod’Abalo Isak Padio and Amen Prince Gandonou defeating Hugo Rask and Ian Rasheed 6-2. Howell Burns and Esteban Davila Gasser clinched the point for the Bears with a 7-6 (7-3) victory over Max Graham and Daniel Clivio.
On the singles side, Marceau Fouilhoux defeated Rask, 6-2, 6-1, at No. 5 position, to give Mercer a 2-0 lead. At No. 4, Tom Hagelauer defeated Rasheed, 7-6, 6-4, to boost the Bears’ lead to 3-0. Burns then defeated Owen Dooley 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 at the No. 6 position to win the match for the Bears.
Singles competition
1. Nemanja Stefanovic (MER) vs. Robbie Young (WOF) 7-6, 5-2, unfinished
2. Hod'Abalo Isak Padio (MER) vs. Jack Deveney (WOF) 6-2, 2-6, 2-3, unfinished
3. Amen Prince Gandonou (MER) vs. Daniel Clivio (WOF) 4-6, 6-3, 3-2, unfinished
4. Tom Hagelauer (MER) def. Ian Rasheed (WOF) 7-6, 6-4
5. Marceau Fouilhoux (MER) def. Hugo Rask (WOF) 6-2, 6-1
6. Howell Burns (MER) def. Owen Dooley (WOF) 6-2, 3-6, 6-2
Doubles Competition
1. Robbie Young/Jack Deveney (WOF) def. Nemanja Stefanovic/Marceau Fouilhoux (MER) 6-2
2. Hod'Abalo Isak Padio/Amen Prince Gandonou (MER) def. Hugo Rask/Ian Rasheed (WOF) 6-2
3. Howell Burns/E. Davila Gasser (MER) def. Max Graham/Daniel Clivio (WOF) 7-6 (7-3)
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2,3) Singles (5,4,6)
*****
2025 SoCon Men’s Tennis Championship
Chattanooga, Tenn. – Champions Club
Thursday, April 17
Match 1: No. 1 ETSU 4, No. 8 The Citadel 0
Match 2: No. 5 Furman 4, No. 4 Chattanooga 3
Match 3: No. 3 Samford 4, No. 6 UNCG 1
Match 4: No. 2 Mercer 4, No. 7 Wofford 0
Friday, April 18
Match 5: No. 1 ETSU vs. No. 5 Furman, 10:00 a.m.
Match 6: No. 3 Samford vs. No. 2 Mercer, 10:00 a.m.
Saturday, April 19
Match 7: Match 5 winner vs. Match 6 winner, 1 p.m.